


magnets

by saltstuck



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Serial Killers, Implied Murder, Killer Steve Harrington, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:54:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23474992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltstuck/pseuds/saltstuck
Summary: Steve knew it when he struck. He knew it by the crack of laughter bursting in the echo, when his lip split bloody under Billy’s fist, when porcelain shattered on bone and tile. Bathed in Billy’s brutality, he knew.They were the same.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Comments: 17
Kudos: 81
Collections: Horrorscopes, Round 2: Murder Boy/girl-friends





	magnets

**Author's Note:**

> Horrorscopes round 2: murder boyfriends + gemini (hands, twins, mental)
> 
> yell at me in the comments and on [tumblr](https://saltstuck.tumblr.com/)

Steve knew it when he struck. He knew it by the crack of laughter bursting in the echo, when his lip split bloody under Billy’s fist, when porcelain shattered on bone and tile. Bathed in Billy’s brutality, he knew. 

They were the same. 

Like attracts like, his mother used to say. Well, bloodlust is a magnet. It’s seeping through the cracks of Billy’s broken pieces and Steve knows how to fill them. 

It’s easy to lure him in. He’s never far, eyes always glued to Steve’s back, but even more-so now,  _ after_, and Steve thinks he  _ knows _ the same way that Steve does, even if he’s not aware of it yet. But there’s something still holding him back. Someone. All Steve needs is the right bait.

A bruise stains Billy’s jaw blue when Steve tells him, “You could stop it, you know.”

“Can’t.”

“Are you sure?“ he asks, hooks Billy in and tugs. 

*

The lights flick on.

Steve loves the way Neil’s eyes pop out of their sockets, but not as much as Billy does. Steve feels it in the way Billy shudders beneath the arch of the doorway, trembles with a gasp caught in his throat. Billy tries to fight it off, gives his head a shake as if that will somehow smother the glee of seeing his father strung up and hanging like a slab of meat that is so apparent on his face. Steve tried to suppress it too, in the beginning. It’s not an easy sight seeing a parent in the role of victim, no matter how much they deserve it, but soon Billy will understand what it is like to be the one manipulating fear instead of cowering in it. Soon, Billy won’t be able to bury his impulses and, if what Steve thinks is right, he’ll crave it just the same as Steve does.

But first things first. Steve needs to show him what he’s missing. 

Steve walks to the table in the corner. It’s an overwhelming scene to be exposed to and Steve doesn’t want Billy to run so he takes slow, deliberate steps. Billy’s eyes stay glued to Neil until Steve wraps his hands around the bat resting on the table top, his gaze flicking over to track the movement as Steve lifts it lazily onto his shoulder. 

“Steve.” Billy’s voice is hesitant. 

“I wasn’t sure what your preferences would be,” Steve says calmly. He’s nervous for Billy’s reaction, there’s still a chance that Steve is wrong in what he assumed of Billy’s behavior, of his needs, but he won't let his tone show that. If Steve is steady and resolute, Billy will follow suit. He hopes. “I prefer something with a swing to it,” he shrugs a shoulder to demonstrate, “but I figured you might need a few options.” 

Blue eyes drop then widen when Steve gestures to the table with a sweep of his free hand. The crowbar has caught Billy’s attention. The tips of his fingers come away red when he presses them to the sharp tongs, coated in a dusty film of dried blood. “You’ve done this before.”

Pleasure rolls hot and heavy in Steve’s stomach as he watches Billy’s gaze continue over the display of weapons laid out, his lips parting on an intake of breath. Steve wonders which he will pick— the knife seems too… clinical for him, too delicate. Steve thinks the hammer might win out in the end; Billy seems like the type to want to hear a crunch, to feel the way the muscles of his arm constrict and tense with each impact. Maybe the bone-saw. Steve will need to use that later either way.

Steve waits patiently. Billy can take all the time in the world for all he cares. It’s not as if Neil is going anywhere. Steve can wait. 

Steve can’t read a thing from Billy as he drags a careful hand along the table top, but Steve knows Billy is mulling it over, can almost hear the gears working in that brilliant mind of his; Billy’s too smart and too curious to walk away without at least weighing his options. It’s…. exhilarating, seeing him process it, not knowing for sure what his decision will be. Steve hasn’t been this excited in weeks, in  _months_. 

Before Billy’s fingers fully wrap around the handle of the axe, Steve places a palm over his. Billy freezes under his touch and looks up, brows pulled together. “If it’s too much for you, I can do it,” Steve lays it on thick, words dripping with concern. The mother hen mask up for one last show. Billy’s eyes narrow and Steve bites the inside of his cheek. Just a little bit more. “You can watch—“

“Fuck you. Like hell I'm just watching.”

Ah, there it is. Steve sets his smile free as Billy’s reward. “Good,” Steve says. The reaction is immediate. Billy trembles, a groan falls from his lips and lands burning in Steve’s gut. He angles his body towards Billy and steps close, drags his fingers up along his forearm. “Can I watch then?”

Billy’s eyelids go heavy. His lips part. He manages a _yeah, fuck,_ _yes_ , as Steve traps that bit of flesh between his teeth. The magnet pulls, both sides meet. 

Neil makes a muffled sound of protest and Billy’s gaze darts over, then back, quick. “It’s nice, isn’t it? To hear him cower, to hear him cry,” Steve says. Billy blinks slowly. He’s so close that Steve can hear the click at the back of his throat when he swallows. “Just think… We haven’t even started yet.”

Time to teach. 


End file.
